Shoe with instep pads



April 8, 1930. n. M KJ HEPBURN SHOE WITH INSTEP PADS Filed June 6. 1928Patented Apr. 8, 1930 DONALD MCKNIGHT HEPBURN, OF mma emmii,PENNSYLVANIA I snoE WITH Insane rains f Application filed June 6, 19a;SeriaZl'No; 283,304.

An object of the invention is to provide a shoe with soft cushion pads,supported one on each side of the lacing slit of the shoe, the padsbeing longitudinally spaced-when the shoe is laced, and to rest on eachside of. the front bones of the instep, the pads being arranged to holdthe lace from exerting pressure on the instep'bones when the shoe islaced.

A further object of my invention is to produce a tongue or saddle for ashoe that will be self-supporting for the lace on blucher shoes, so thatthe heavy pressure of tightening the lace, in order to hold the shoefirmly on the foot, does not directly bear on the bones of the upperfoot or bone frame of the foot where the laces necessarily pass over itin order to bring the two pieces of the shoe together- In the drawings,

Fig.1 is a front view of the outside of the tongue, showing the outeredges of the cushion pads in dotted lines; o

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal end View from the lower part of Fig. 1, and theleft of Fig. 3

Fig. 3 is an end view of the outer end of the tongue, showing thelaminations of the pads;

Fig. 4 is a front view of a'inodification, showing the two sides of theupper, with the soft cushion flap pads on the under sides thereof shownin dotted lines, and the end of the tongue of the shoe as a curved linebeyond the end of the upper;

5 is an edge view ofone side of the upper, showing the laminations ofthe cushion pads, also a section of the usual tongue; and

Fig. 6 is an end View of the front parts of the upper, showing thelaminations of the soft flap cushion pads, and also the usual tongue.

In shoes developed by the present art of shoe manufacturing, the tongueis often made of soft leather and lined with a. cloth of soft nature onthe under side where it comes in contact with the instep of the foot, inorder to cushion the lace and reduce the irritation necessarily arousedby the lace lying tightly drawn on the instep of the foot.

My invention shows a decided improvement over this method of lacingashoe over I the; instep. V 1 r drawingit willbe seen that I form aregular saddle out of the tongue 1 of the shoe, by selayers 42', 3,maybe made 10f :other suitable material that will be soft andcomfortable to the foot;,or layer 2. may be of soft sponge,

rubber, the layer 4- may be of felt padding or of thin leather, ormuslin, such as'cominonly used in lining shoe-uppers. The pads aresuficiently spaced, as shown, in Fig. 8, so

thati whentheshoe is laced,zthe lace will be raised on each side of theinstep, so. that when th'e-lac'e'is drawn-tightly over'the instep, the

laces;, do not bear-hardly .ata-ll on the bones of the. foot-,due to thesaddle or pads, raising the laces up so that when they; are drawntightthe pressure is [on the pads ofthe saddlej on ,each;side instead ofdirectly on the instep bones where they cut and irritate. By

constructing shoe tongues by this method, the area bearing on the sidesof the instep is in creased four or five times on each side instead ofdirectly in the center or most irritating point, with the result thatthe shoe can be'laced more tightly on the foot, resulting inincreasedcomfort and more accurate and sure-footedness by the wearer.This is especially desirable on the heavier blucher shoes or golf shoesworn by men and boys.

In the modification shown inFigs. 4c, 5, and 6, the cushion pads 20 aresecured on each side of the upper 6, at'a convenient distance from theedges, as shown in Fig. 6, at 17, the pads consisting of layers 8, 9,and 10 of soft felt or other soft material as in Fig. 3, or layer :9 maybe soft felt or sponge rubber, and layers 8 and 10 of thin leather, ormuslin, such as 1s commonly used 1n hnmg shoe uppers,

this modification the separate soft flap pads are preferably attached tothe sides of the uppers as at 17, the pads being free at theirextremities, permitting the laces to be easily the'tonguc of the shoe isshown at 12. In

inserted through the eyeletsll. The pads are 1 V so disposed that afterlacing the shoe, they will be spaced as at 13, resting against the sidesof the foot, and holding the lace and edges of the upper out of contactwith the bones on the front of the foot.

It will be seen that in both modifications of the invention, the cushionpads are supported one on each side of the lacing slit of the shoe, andthat after the shoeis laced there is a space between them, the cushionpads resting on each side of the front bones of the instep, andprotecting these bones from the pressure of the tightly drawn lacegenerally experienced in shoes as usually constructed.

I claim 1. A shoe comprising a pair of soft cushion pads supported oneon each side of the lacing slit of the shoe, said pads being thinner atthe outer edges than at the edges adjacent the lacing slit, and locatedso as to be longitudinally spaced when the shoe is laced and to rest oneach side of the front bones of the instep, said pads arranged to holdthe lace from exerting pressure on said front bones on the instep whenthe shoe is laced.

2. A tongue for shoes, comprising cushion pads attached to the sidesthereof, said pads centrally spaced, and thicker at approaching edgesthan at the side edges of V the tongue.

3. A shoe comprising a tongue having a pair of spaced broad thin cushionpads secured thereto with their thin edges at the side edges of thetongue, said pads having a tapering horizontal cross-section and ofconsiderable Width compared to their thickness.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

DONALD MoKNIGHT HEPBURN.

